Contact: Clive Griffiths, ext 7962 email: [email protected]

1. Summary

1.1 This report outlines the process for allocating the highway structural maintenance budget using current condition measurement techniques, and summarises the indicators used for assessing the condition of the network.

2. Budget Allocation

2.1 The overall highways maintenance budget is funded from two sources - Central Government through the Local Transport Plan settlement and locally through the council tax system. The attached graph depicts the total monies allocated for highway maintenance during the last 10 years.

2.2 The highways maintenance allocation provides funding for a number of different functions. In the first instance the budget has to ensure that there is adequate funding to meet policy and statutory requirements. These are predominantly statutory functions such as regulatory activities, winter maintenance and safety repairs, but also includes other services such as street lighting, bridge maintenance, energy supplies and other similar functions. These works are primarily revenue funded.

2.3 The remainder of the allocation is used to maintain and improve the structural condition of the network and mainly comprises planned maintenance works for carriageways and footways. Again there are additional service areas included, such as the street light column replacement programme, bridgeworks, traffic signal and information improvements.

2.4 The details of some of these budgets and programmes are reported in Agenda items 8 and 9.

2.5 With regard to the structural maintenance programme for carriageways and footways, which includes special maintenance, resurfacing and surface dressing schemes, the County Council has for many years used the Highway Assessment of Maintenance Priorities (HAMP) system, a visual assessment system to prioritise individual schemes for maintenance need. Details of this process have been previously reported to the Panel.

2.6 HAMP assessments are carried out on 500-1,000 sites per year. The condition is recorded as a rating number and the sites can be placed in priority order, the higher the rating the greater the maintenance need. The budget allocation for structural maintenance is then used to fund the highest priority schemes and the Local Highway Units can then produce the annual, planned maintenance programmes.

2.7 The highest rated schemes, ie those sites in greatest need of repairs, are funded for maintenance works until the budget is fully allocated. Schemes below the `cut off' level, which generally have lower ratings, will be considered for the following year's maintenance programme. The `cut-off' level, the lowest rating value to which funding will support, is primarily dictated by the budget allocation, the numbers of schemes submitted which have achieved higher rating and the overall cost of these schemes. As such, cut-off levels do vary year on year and are not a true indication of the network condition.

3. Network Condition

3.1 Historically HAMP has been the only measure of condition for the network and has been used to comment on the overall condition of the carriageways and footways. This is not ideal, mainly due to being such a small sample, but for many years this has been the only tool available.

3.2 HAMP results have been used in two ways to report condition. The annual results can either be analysed and extrapolated to provide condition indicators for the whole network, or `cut-off' figures, the level down to which funding is achieved annually, can be compared with the previous year. Both these options provide useful information but the results must be treated with caution.

3.3 The funding available for structural maintenance throughout the nineties was low and with little chance of structural maintenance schemes being funded there was minimal benefit in the Highways Units continuing to submit maintenance schemes for HAMP assessments. Therefore when HAMP information was used as a backlog or condition indicator, a relatively low need was identified which did not necessarily reflect the actual situation. Improved funding over the last two years has increased the onus on Highways Units to submit more schemes for HAMP rating. This has resulted in more schemes to fund and an apparent increase in the maintenance backlog. This merely demonstrates the unsuitability of relying on HAMP ratings or cut-off levels as an indicator of overall highway condition.

3.4 In recent years Best Value Performance Indicators (BVPIs) have been introduced, which require regular visual surveys of the whole highway network. This means that for the first time this Authority is able to assess the condition of the entire network. A paper to the former Highway Maintenance Advisory Panels last year provided detail. However, to obtain useful network condition information, from which trends and backlogs can be assessed, it is necessary to record condition and compare this with spend over a number of years.

3.5 Detailed knowledge concerning the condition of the network is still in its infancy. Even more difficult to assess is whether the network is improving or deteriorating and whether present levels of funding are sufficient to improve the network. More extensive condition information is available for the Principal Road Network and there is evidence to suggest that deterioration here has been halted. There is very limited information available for the minor road or footway network where condition surveys to a national standard only commenced in 2001/02 and 2002/03 respectively. There is concern that the flooding which occurred two years ago and the clay shrinkage issues of last summer have had a detrimental effect on the infrastructure. In May the next set of BVPIs will be reported, for which the surveys are presently in hand.

3.6 The Public Service Agreement for highways requires that a marginal improvement must be shown in the condition of the minor road network by the end of 2004. The improvement to be based on BVPI benchmark surveys carried out in 2001. It is hoped that the targeting of funds in appropriate areas means that this will be achieved. Further information will be available at the end of May when this year's condition surveys have been completed.

Recommendation

That this report be noted.

8642/CG